Priorities
by empire-antagonist
Summary: Some misplaced priorities leave 2D trapped in the massive fire that has engulfed the entirety of Kong. While Murdoc must valiantly try to save his best mate from being lost to the flames, Noodle and Russel are left to realign their priorities and hope that it isn't too late for their bandmates. *rated T for language; no established pairings, although slight 2D/Murdoc*


**Pairing: **general, with a bit of light 2D/Murdoc

**Warning: **fire, brief mentions of injury, lots of guilt

**Disclaimer: **As much as it pains me to say, no, I am not in any way affiliated with Gorillaz.

* * *

**Priorities**

He can't see the clock, but it's 11:47 when 2D is awoken by the pungent smell of smoke. His eyes burn from the dense and blistering cloud of black, and he nearly falls over when he tries to stand. His head is pounding and he can't tell if it's from the fumes or if it's the remnants of the crippling headache that had sent him to bed early hours before.

"_2D-san, are you a'right?" Noodle asked worriedly, looking at her band-mate who was resting his head in his hands._

"_Yeah, love, s'just a headache," he replied with gritted teeth._

"_You don't look so good, D," Russel chimed in from the other side of the living room. "Maybe you should head up to bed."_

_2D lifted his head only to be assaulted by the harsh fluorescent lights of Kong's living room. Biting his cheeks to keep from making noise, he gave a quick nod and stood to leave for his room._

"Noodle?" he yells, his voice cracking from hours of disuse. "Russel?"

He receives no response.

He quickly makes his way over to the door of his bedroom, being careful not to step or trip on anything. He reaches for the doorknob, but pulls his hand away immediately with a curse.

"Wot tha hell happen'd?" he wonders idly, reaching for the door knob again, this time with a cloth to protect his hand.

When he opens the door, his vision is filled with bright oranges and reds and yellows, all engulfing the halls of Kong. His eyes widen and he's nearly numb to the smoke that continues to sting them.

"Noodle?" he yells again, distressed. "Russel?"

He looks for an exit not shrouded in flames, but the smoke encompasses his sight. "Murdoc?" he yells, even though he knows that he wouldn't receive a response even if the man was there.

Feeling more concerned for the lives of his band-mates than for his own, he sets off for their rooms, hoping against everything for their safety.

_Noodle was surrounded in blankets when she got her first whiff of smoke. She sighed in annoyance, figuring that either 2D or Murdoc (well, probably Murdoc, she rationalized) had forgotten to put out their cigarette. Again._

_Huffing out a breath, she untangled herself from her cocoon of blankets and stood. The clock on her bedside table read 11:28. Her brows drew in confusion. Normally, if Murdoc or 2D were out for a smoke, they went around 2 or 3 in the morning. They'd never come out this early before._

_Shaking her head, she walked out of her room and towards the balcony. Before she ever reached it, however, she noticed a thick plume of smoke coming from further down the hallway, near the living room._

_This was the point at which Noodle began to panic. She took off in a sprint towards the source of the ominous smoke and upon her arrival, she was alarmed to find that the entirety of the downstairs- the living room, kitchen, dining room, and game room- were on fire. _

_Coughing against the thickening smoke, she ran back to her bedroom and grabbed her favorite guitar, which she always kept in close proximity to herself. With her guitar in its case strapped to her back, she ran down the hallway in the opposite direction of the oncoming fire and down the emergency stairs. _

_She knew that she was safe when she launched through the emergency exit's double doors and felt the cool October air touch her skin._

"Don't worry, baby girl," Russel soothes. "They'll be out real soon."

"What if they _can't _get out?"she cries, her voice raising several octaves. "What if they're trapped?"

"They're both idiots, but they know how to get themselves out of a bad situation."

Noodle sniffles and sits on the cool pavement, watching as the flames engulf Kong. Russel sits next to her, slinging a big arm around her tiny frame and pulling her close. She cries into his smoke-scented shirt and they both anxiously wait for their two fellow band-mates to appear.

"_Aw shit," Russel mumbled, sitting up in his bed. "I hope I didn't leave the oven on again."_

_Dark smoke had overtaken his room and he fumbled around his nightstand until he found his cellphone; the glowing blue letters told him that it was 11:35. _

"_Fuck," he swore, pocketing his phone, his wallet, and a spare set of the Geep's keys. If the smoke was anything to go by, there was a fire raging on in Kong, and a pretty bad one at that. There was no harm in being cautious._

_He slipped on a pair of shoes and stuffed his prized set of drumsticks in his pocket before making a leave from his room. The door knob burnt his palm and he cussed, going at it again with speed._

_He enters the hallway and hears not only the crackling of fire, but small footsteps. "Noodle?" he calls. Looking down the hallway, he sees her, oblivious, dashing towards the stairs of the emergency exit. _

_Speeding his pace just a little, he follows her to the ground floor emergency exit and finds her standing alone on the sidewalk of Kong._

A rumbling in the distance makes both Noodle and Russel look away from the fire they had been so carefully observing. "It's Murdoc!" Noodle yells, watching as her band-mate's precious Winnebago tears through the grass and revs towards the sidewalk where they sit.

Before even being properly parked, Murdoc jumps out, swearing to the highest heavens and the lowest hells. Russel looks at him dangerously and Murdoc stops talking immediately.

"Who," he pauses briefly. "In the bloody _hell _started that goddamn fire?" His voice has a noticeable tone of incredulousness that makes the air turn tense.

Noodle and Russel are quiet for a moment, avoiding Murdoc's accusatory glare. The cold night is dead silent besides the roaring of the fire until Noodle gasps. "2D!"

Murdoc turns to her looking surprised. "You mean tha' dullard's still in ther'?"

"We've been out here for about fifteen minutes waiting for you both," Russel says, trying not to let the fear seep into his voice. "I was hoping that you had him, but I guess n-"

"_Me_?!" Murdoc shouts angrily. "Wha' abou' you? You were right down tha damn hallway from 'im an' you expected _me _to get 'im?"

"How was I supposed to know?" Russel shouts, equally angry. "You two always hang out at night, so how was I supposed to know he wasn't with you?"

"I 'aven't seen 'im since practice, fat ass! He wasn' wif me none tonight."

Russel feels guilt pooling thick in his belly remembering how 2D had went to bed early with a headache. Why did he leave Kong without waking 2D?

"Fuck," he swears, rubbing his temples.

Murdoc feels his anger dissipating and turning to concern for his missing band-mate. "A'right," he says, glancing from a guilty looking Russel to a borderline hysteric Noodle. "I'm gonna go in ther' an' see if I can't find 'im. If I can't, I'm comin' back down an' you can't tell me that I didn' try."

Noodle cries and hugs Murdoc. He lifts her into his arms and whispers, "Don't worry, baby girl. I'll get tha' dullard out."

_The clock on his Winnebago's dashboard clock read 11:44 when Murdoc was bombarded with the foul stench of smoke. "For fuck's sake," he grumbled, slamming the bottle of alcohol he'd been drinking on the table. _

_He opened one of the windows of his Winnebago and nearly gagged as he breathed in a lungful of formidable dark smoke. "Wha' in tha goddamn hell is on fire?" _

_The air in the parking garage was normally cool against his jean-clad body, but now it felt almost comfortable, albeit a little warm. Furrowing his brows, he walked to the stairs of the first level and began to climb. _

_The temperature increased the longer he walked and when he was nearly about to turn around for the refuge of the temperate garage, he saw the ferocious flames that had all but taken over Kong. _

"_Holy shit," he gasped, coughing from the intense smoke. He ran back down to the parking garage as quickly as he could, fired up his Winnebago, and drove out of the burning mess that was Kong._

"Now if I was tha' dullard during a fire, wher' would I be?" Murdoc says to himself as he sets off to find 2D.

The emergency stairs seem totally unscathed by the fire and Murdoc silently hopes that wherever 2D has sought refuge is in the same condition.

When he finally reaches the second floor, breathless and a little dizzy from the alcohol that still lingered in his system, Murdoc's eyes widen in horror. The hallway of the bedrooms has been nearly taken over by scorching flames. Beams from the ceiling litter the hallways and overhead creaking warns of the buildings inevitable collapse.

Murdoc wonders with terror if his band-mate could survive being trapped under one of the fallen beams.

"Fuckin' hell!" Murdoc yells, straining his eyes for any sign of 2D.

Suspense and despair course through his body as he cautiously walks down the hallway. It's nearly impossible to avoid all of the flames and he cringes as the sides of his arms begin to redden.

"2D!" he shouts against the roaring of the flames "2D!"

There is no reply.

"_Is anyone here?" 2D cried down the dark and desolate hallway. _

_Suddenly, one of the beams from the ceiling fell. 2D narrowly avoided being crushed._

_He felt his heart beat increase and he struggled to get enough breathable air to fill his lungs. He began coughing up the dry air he had inhaled. Tears fell from his eyes and whether they were tears of fear or tears from his coughing fit, he did not know._

"_Someone," he pled weakly, falling to the ground. "Please."_

"Stuart, _please_," Murdoc yells desperately. "Where are you?"

The ceiling gives another ominous creak and the tension in the air in terrifying. Murdoc knows that the ceiling won't hold for more than a few more minutes, and if he doesn't leave soon, he'll be as good as dead.

"Fuck!" he screams, tugging on his hair in frustration. He needs to get out of Kong, but he can't leave 2D. He just _can't_.

He runs down the hallway, looking in every space big enough to house 2D until he finally reaches the door to his room. The door is ajar and the room is silent, but he looks in anyway. Lit by only the light of the flames, Murdoc can see the emptiness of the room from where he stands, so he sighs and continues onward.

"2D!" he yells again. He hates how afraid and hopeless his voice sounds, but he can't help it. He can't lose him, he's his best mate for fuck's sake! "2D!"

Further down the hallway there are obstacles impossible to pass. Shaking his head, Murdoc continues down the hallway, hoping against all of the odds to find his band-mate alive in this mess. He yells again and again and again and he doesn't receive an answer until he's nearly at the impassible pile of debris.

It's begun to rain and Russel sits uncaring on the damp pavement. His arm shelters the crying Noodle as the rain begins to pour.

His cellphone clock reads 12:00, midnight. He shuts his eyes and puts his head in one of his large hands, just wishing he'd done something different. 2D was the scapegoat of the band and for treating him as such, Russel feels an enormous pang of guilt.

"It's not your fault," a small voice says from beside him. He looks up to find Noodle looking sadly at him.

"It is, baby girl, I shoulda-"

"If you should have, shouldn't I have too?" she says, suddenly furious. "I was the first one out and all I cared about was my guitar!"

"And I was right behind you," he says wearily, pulling out his drumsticks.

Noodle's lip trembles and she ducks her head into Russel's shoulder. "We should have told him," she says, her voice slightly muffled.

"Murdoc's lookin' for him now. We've gotta keep hoping for the best… for _both _of their sakes."

2D is light in Murdoc's arms. Maybe it's because of his gangly limbs or maybe because Murdoc is stronger than he thought, but he makes a mental note to make sure that 2D eats more at the next opportunity he gets.

At this moment, however, he's immensely grateful for 2D's lightness. He's sprinting down the hallway as fast as he can, trying to dodge not only the flames, but now the falling pieces of the collapsing ceiling.

2D stirs in Murdoc's arms, who remains unknown to the movement until 2D gives a feeble moan. He looks down at the man in his arms with a look of relief. "Though' you were a goner," he says, not stopping his brisk pace.

"A' they okay?" 2D whispers in a ragged voice.

"Who?" Murdoc says. Realization dawns quickly and he recovers. "Noodle an' Russel are waitin' outside, scared to awl hell I'd bet."

2D gives a weak nod and rests his head back against Murdoc's chest. Murdoc finds it strangely nice knowing that 2D is protected in his arms, but as the pieces of ceiling begin to fall more rapidly, he casts his mind to more pressing matters.

The fire has spread to the end of the hallway and the once pristine looking fire exit no longer looks untouched. The destructive flames have crept to the top of the emergency exit's stairs, but beyond that, it is a straight shot to the bottom level where Noodle and Russel wait.

As Murdoc approaches the exit's doorway, he detects that he won't be able to get past the minor obstruction without getting 2D's incredibly long legs burnt by the flames. "Hey," Murdoc says gently to the barely conscious man in his arms. "2D?"

"Wha'?" he responds weakly.

"Tuck in yer legs, would ya?" When 2D makes no move, Murdoc sighs. "If you don', they'll get burnt."

At that, 2D slowly begins to curl in on himself in Murdoc's arms. Once again, Murdoc finds himself enjoying having 2D safe with him, but as the ceiling gives one more impending groan of collapse, he shoots past the flames and down the stairs.

He's almost made it to safety when a sickening noise, accompanied by a disorienting lurch shakes the ground on which he stands. "Fuck!" he yells, stirring 2D.

2D wraps one of his skinny arms around his Murdoc and clings to him more tightly. Murdoc can swear that he heard the man whimper, but he may have heard wrong.

"Don' worry," he says almost absentmindedly. "We're almos' outta here."

Just as he says that, he clears the last flight of stairs and finally meets the double doors that hold their freedom. He pushes through them right as the last section of Kong finally collapses. They're thrown from the building by the sheer force of the catastrophe.

Murdoc lands on his stomach and 2D, who had been pushed from his arms, ends up on his side in front of him.

"2D!" Noodle screams. "Murdoc!"

Murdoc stands and wipes his palms, now bleeding, on his ruined jeans. He picks up the now unconscious 2D and meets Noodle and Russel.

"Holy shit," Russel says, punctuating each syllable. "Y'all alright?"

Murdoc nods, but looks down to 2D with slight apprehension. "I'm fine, but I dunno abou' 'im."

"A doctor, then."

"Di' anyone call tha fire station?"

"Yeah, after you went back in for D."

Fire engines wail in the distance and Murdoc looks more annoyed than anything. "Fat lot o' good tha' is now."

Russel snickers and Noodle just looks worriedly from 2D to Murdoc. "Did he say anything?" she asks quietly.

"'e was pre'y out of it by tha time I found 'im," he says, his glance going to 2D. "'e was ba'ely conscious, but 'e asked abou' you two."

"What'd he ask?"

Murdoc's eyes darken. "If you both were a'right."

Both Noodle and Russel look to their feet and no more words are spoken until the fire engines finally reach the entrance of Kong. An ambulance trails closely behind the barrage of fire trucks and Murdoc moves up to greet it.

"I'm goin' wif 'im," he says, not turning to face them. "Garage seems to be ok, so meet us a' tha hospital."

Russel and Noodle glance to the western side of Kong and find truth in Murdoc's words. The garage's roof is slightly blackened, but it stands strong while the rest of their home has fallen.

Meanwhile, a team of paramedics storms Murdoc and 2D. An impressive slew of questions are asked, none of which Murdoc could even hope to hear over all of the commotion of the firemen. Finally, 2D is taken from his arms and placed on a stretcher, and Murdoc is left feeling very alone.

"I'm ridin' along," he says, his tone final.

"What is your relation to…"

"2D or Stuart. And I'm 'is best mate."

"Any family in the area?"

"Not for miles."

Murdoc is allowed into the back of the ambulance and takes a seat next to where the doctors are treating 2D. His friend is very pale, all but his pink cheeks and the dark bags under his eyes. His hair is matted with ash and dirt, and his lips are chapped.

His t-shirt, one of 2D's favorites, Murdoc is sad to notice, has been ruined, just as well as his jeans. The paramedics waste no time stripping him of his clothes and examining more closely the burns he has sustained.

Suddenly, the vehicle jolts and the sirens start up, and they're finally starting for the hospital.

Some of the medics prod the angry pink skin of 2D's chest and arms, and Murdoc notices the younger man grimace. He grabs one of 2D's hands, avoiding the burns of course, and strokes it, hoping to rouse him to consciousness.

2D's eyelids flutter and finally open, revealing two large dark dents. "The' you are," Murdoc whispers, hoping his band-mate can hear him.

The oxygen mask over his face restricts his ability to communicate a good bit, but 2D manages a weak, "Muds," before going quiet again.

Murdoc smiles at the attempt and directs his attention to the medics works on 2D's burns. "Are they bad?" he asks.

"Not too bad," one of them replies tersely.

The areas the stand out amongst the rest of 2D's ashen skin are the sides of his arms and around his collarbones. The areas are an irritated red, but as the doctors apply some clear substance to them, their color dulls to a pink.

Murdoc feels movement against his palm and looks to find 2D's fingers knotting with his own. He'd never been exactly nice to his singer (unless you considered nearly daily beatings to be 'nice) and to see him so comfortable with being reliant on him was endearing.

The ride to the hospital is long and 2D drifts in and out of consciousness for most of it while the doctors tend to his wounds. At some point one of the medics remarks that the real issue was not his burns, but his high levels of carbon monoxide.

With that, Murdoc finally begins to notice how much difficulty 2D has been having with breathing. He notices how shallow and ragged his breathing is, and despite being in an ambulance full of highly trained medical professionals, Murdoc begins to worry.

Russel hurriedly makes it to the garage and pulls the Geep in the muddy grass in front of the ruins of Kong. He ushers Noodle and her nearly forgotten guitar into the passenger seat and they're about to drive off when one of the firemen stops them.

"Hey hey, sowry, but I'm gunna need a word wif you."

"Dude, my friend is going to the hospital and we really need t-"

"I understand, but this'll only take a bit."

Sighing, Russel gets out of the car. "You stay put, princess," he says to a worried looking Noodle. "I'll be right back."

"Ok sir, wha' can you tell 'bout this fire?"

"I honestly don't have anything to say," he says, trying to keep the annoyance from his voice. "I woke up, smelled smoke, and got out."

"D'you know where it sta'ted?"

"'round the middle of the house, I guess," he says, biting his lip. "In the kitchen, living room, or dining room is my best bet."

"Would anywun've left tha stove or somefing on?"

"I _could _have, but it's unlikely."

"Why's tha'?"

He nods his head towards Noodle, who waits restlessly in the passenger seat of the Geep. "She always checks that I shut it off. Always."

"An' you trust tha' a twelve yea' old _always_ makes sure ta check?" he says, doubt thick in his voice.

Russel's expression turns from annoyance to anger. "Yeah. I do," he says making his way back to the Geep. "Oh," he says, pausing to look at the fireman. "She's thirteen by the way."

He drives away on the damp main road, watching out for any of the zombies that infest the surrounding woods. They finally reach the main gates at 12:24 and at this time on any other night, he'd be sound asleep in his bed. Now, he doesn't have a bed.

The ride to the hospital is silent besides the light pitter patter of rain on the windshield. Cars pass them and lights shine brighter and brighter as they make it into the city. The hospital looms in the distance and when Russel finally pulls the Geep into its parking lot, the trepidation is nearly impenetrable.

"He…" Noodle says with a thick voice. "He didn't look too great… then."

Russel sighs and nods his head. "He was too pale. He wasn't breathin' right."

"What if it's bad?" she asks, her voice cracking a bit.

"We'll get through it. We always get through it."

Murdoc sits with his head resting against the wall, feigning boredom. He'd been waiting for about ten minutes when his other band members walk into the room. "So nice of ya to join," he says bitterly.

He directed the indirect accusation at Russel, but it reaches Noodle as well and she looks at her feet. Murdoc notices her guilt and sighs. "Come 'ere, Noods."

She takes the seat next to Murdoc and he puts an arm around her. Russel takes the seat next to Noodle and mimics the action. She doesn't know quite how to feel, so she sits mulling through all of her emotions.

There's guilt, which is the huge one. Worry is prominent also. Hope bleeds into the worry, as well as optimism. She doesn't know what they'll do now that Kong has been destroyed, so anxiety also makes itself known.

"Love?" Murdoc questions, snapping Noodle out of her trance. "It's not yur fault, ok?"

Noodle shakes her head, deciding on guilt.

"You were worried abou' ya self; thas' totally understable," he continues. "You didn' kno' any o' this woulda happen'd."

"I still should have told him!" she cries.

"Maybe, bu' it's all ove' now. We're awl safe."

There's a brief pause until Russel asks the question weighing on all of their minds. "How is he?"

His mouth is dry and his tongue is heavy. He feels tubing in his nose and an oxygen mask over his mouth. A vague prickling sensation in his arm lets him know that he's been hooked to an IV. He's in a hospital.

"Aw fuck," he curses. His mouth is so dry and his lips are so chapped that it's nearly impossible to formulate any intelligible words.

His eyelids are heavy, but with a bit of force, he manages to open them to the harsh fluorescent lights of the hospital room. It's a strain for his tired eyes, but he needs to know what's going on.

There's a clock on the wall that reads 5:35, and the window is beginning to stream in the first lights of morning. He looks around the room to find it empty except for him. Whatever happened must've been pretty bad for them to keep him isolated from his band-mates.

A brief spell of worry hits him at that. What if whatever happened was bad enough to take his band-mates? His heart races at the thought, and within a minute, a nurse is in the room trying to calm him down.

"Mr. Pot?" he asks, his voice mellow. "Mr. Pot, do you remember what happened?"

2D shakes his head and points to his achingly dry throat. The nurse understands immediately and fetches a container of ice chips from the other side of the room.

The nurse displaces his oxygen mask and it's a little degrading as he feeds him the ice, 2D thinks. He's noticed that his hands are bandaged, but he's sure that he could still do it himself.

"You said that you don't remember what happened last night, correct?"

Worry creeps in again as 2D mumbles, "No."

"There was a fire and you were trapped inside," the nurse starts, not wasting any time. "All of you friends were able to get out, but you passed out inside. It really hurt your lungs, being exposed to all of the smoke for so long, but you're expected to make a full recovery."

Bits and pieces of the night come back to him: the headache, the smoke, the fear for his band-mates. He remembers Murdoc carrying him and feeling so safe in his arms, but he also remembers feeling hurt, both physically and emotionally.

"Your friend Murdoc got you out, just in time from what I've heard. That whole place collapsed in on itself and you too both barely managed to get out." The nurse notices the worried look on 2D's face and quickly clarifies. "He's fine; don't worry."

He remembers seeing the black night and feeling the relief of cool raindrops on his face before blacking out. The ambulance ride flickers in his mind's eye and he faintly remembers Murdoc's concerned face watching over him.

But there's a sickening feeling in his gut that tells him that he's still forgetting something. "Anything else?" he asks, his voice sounding stronger after a bit of hydration.

The nurse stares at him for a moment, thinking. Finally, he shakes his head. "That's everything I was told. Maybe when your friends come back they'll have more to tell you."

"Where are they?"

"Lobby," he replies simply. "The little one and the big one are sleeping. The… other one, yeah he looks like he could never sleep again."

"Why haven't they come back?"

"Visiting hours don't start until 8."

"Mr. Niccals?"

Murdoc looks to the receptionist with annoyance. He'd argued with her quite a few times in his hours of being here and if she was toying with him, he'd be pissed. Gently, he propped the sleeping Noodle against Russel and walked to the receptionist.

"Yes?" he says, trying to keep his tone even.

"We're allowing you to visit wif Mr. Pot at this time." At his confused look, she rolls her eyes and goes on. "Mr. Pot 'as woken up and has voiced that his condition would greatly benefit from a visitor. It isn't a very convincin' demand, if you ask me, but these nurses'll cave for just about anyfing."

He shrugs his shoulders and meets the nurse stationed at the door. "A'right, back we go."

Murdoc doesn't quite know what to expect when he and the nurse approach 2D's room. The nurse has informed him that he's doing much better now that the toxins have left his body, so Murdoc definitely doesn't expect any morbidity. But the nurse has also told him how utterly drained 2D is because of the ordeal, so he can't expect much weight from 2D's end of the visit.

"I'll leave you to i' then," the nurse says before leaving him in front of the door.

Taking a breath, Murdoc opens the door, revealing a plain and pristine hospital room. "Muds?"

Murdoc turns to his singer and lets out the breath. "Hey, faceache."

There's a chair by his bedside and Murdoc takes it at once. 2D looks at him with tired black eyes and smiles. Instead of teasing him, Murdoc smiles back, hoping his eyes don't give away how worried he'd been for the younger man.

"Are you awright?" 2D asks, his eyes dropping to Murdoc's arms.

Nobody had asked him if he had been injured at all, so the question takes him by surprise. He rubs one of his arms looking for and finding discomfort. "'m fine," he responds, still prodding at his sore arms.

"They put this really good antebiotec cream on mine," he says, looking distractedly at his bandaged arms. "Ah feel fine now."

"The real problem was yuh breaving," Murdoc says, suddenly curious. He notices the slow and more importantly, _healthy_, rise and fall of 2D's chest, and feels a wave of relief.

2D notices him looking and says, "They say ah'll be fine. But no cigarettes."

"How're ya gunna manage tha'?" Murdoc teases lightheartedly.

2D smirks and shrugs. "Dunno ye'."

The sit in a comfortable silence and silently watch the sunrise through the window's blinds. The situation couldn't be worse seeing as they'd lost their home, their possessions, their instruments, and their music, but watching the sunrise made all of that seem insignificant.

It makes 2D remember the last part of the story. He looks downward and speaks, his tone serious. "They… they left me, didn' they?"

"Yea," is Murdoc's gruff response.

"'m not angry at 'em or anyfing," 2D says sadly. "Ah just wish thei' priorities woulda been diff'rent."

"Me too." He stares idly at his singer and notices how much emotion his dark eyes contain. He looks so… _sad_. It hurts Murdoc to see.

He's never been one for consoling other people, especially not the bloke who he beat to a pulp nearly every day. Seeing him so torn apart, however, was something that broke Murdoc's heart, reminding him with surprise that he actually had one.

He grabs 2D's hand without a second thought, yet continues to look at only the sunrise. He sees 2D's surprised gaze from his peripheral vision, but refuses to acknowledge it. Their hands intertwine and their faces heat, but neither makes a move to move apart.

Finally Murdoc begins to speak. "Ya know, they feel bloody awful. They ought to too. They weren' thinkin', they were so anxious ov tha fire."

"Ah understand," 2D says with genuineness. Murdoc wonders how 2D can continue to be such a genuine and understanding person after all of the pain that people (mostly Murdoc) have caused him.

"They bof wish they'da done it diff'rent now. They thot you were a goner 'til I came out wif ya."

"Why did you?" 2D asks with honest curiosity.

Murdoc doesn't know how to answer and his perplexity makes another look of sadness touch 2D's features. He hates that look, that helpless, self-loathing look, more than anything in the world, he decides, so he decides to fix it.

"I wasn' gunna let ya die, now was I?" 2D looks up at his bassist suddenly. "Come on ya dullard, I know you fink I hate ya, but I'd neva let you die like tha'!"

"You don' hate meh?"

"No," he sighs. "Unless you ge' on me nerves. And I hate ev'ryone who does tha'."

2D smiles up at his band mate and does something unexpected: he drops their linked hands and hugs him. It's a weak hug, but after the night he'd had, it's a lot better than nothing. He expects Murdoc to shove him off on pure impulse, but is delighted when his bassist hugs him back.

"If yer usin' ya patient status to make a teddy bear outta me, I'll kill you," Murdoc says with a light tone when they pull away.

"You jus' saved mah life!" 2D smirks. "Not abou' to end it a'ready, are ya?"

"Keep pushin' it, Pot, an' yer gunna have a real bad time when we ge' outta here."

**Priorities: Epilogue**

A week after Kong burned to the ground, Gorillaz were hard at work looking for a new place to call home. Russel was using his smooth talking to barter for prices, although they weren't struggling for money since their insurance claim had come in.

Noodle spent her days trying to locate replacement instruments for the rest of her band-mates. She easily found two new bass guitars that Murdoc surprisingly took very well to. The drum sets were a little bit more difficult, but with a little input from Russel, she was able to find a reliable set. Lastly, for 2D, she had a keyboard custom made and delivered straight from Japan.

The temptation to drive his Winnebago to some bar for a quick shag was nearly eating him alive, but Murdoc managed to resist. Being the band's proclaimed leader, he felt that it was his responsibility to personally inspect any of their new potential homes.

And 2D, a week after he was nearly killed by a fire that started by an electrical overload sourced in the studio, was busy trying to recreate the unpublished music they'd lost. So far, he'd been able to mostly recreate 4 of the 5 songs that had been lost. The last missing one had been one that they'd practiced only twice, so recollecting it was understandably more time consuming.

In the evenings, Murdoc and 2D would drink and talk about nothing in particular. The hotel they'd chosen to stay in had an open rooftop, so in the dead of night sometimes they would go up and just look down at the lights.

Murdoc would smoke, of course, but since 2D still wasn't allowed to, he would limit himself to half of the normal carcinogens. 2D noticed, and Murdoc's shy compassion was endearing to him.

Sometimes, if they hadn't drank a lot and they didn't find themselves tiring, they'd stay on the rooftop all night until the sun rose again. The array of colors was always so breathtaking and serene that they never spoke for fear of disrupting the tranquility.

There was a morning where 2D had fallen asleep on the rooftop while watching the sunrise. His body leaned against Murdoc's and while being briefly tempted to leave him on the roof, he thought better of the idea and picked him up.

2D felt just as nice in his arms then as he did when he carried him out of Kong. He was still light and gangly, except now there wasn't any fear of being crushed to death by a burning building. He's warm in Murdoc's arms and he smells of butterscotch… not smoke.

They were renting in two bedrooms with four beds in total. 2D and Murdoc shared a room while Noodle and Russel shared one. Murdoc reached their room with his singer safe in his arms. He placed him in his bed and drew the cover over his skinny frame and barely made it to his own bed before collapsing with exhaustion.

It all became a routine: drinking a few beers, having a smoke on the rooftop, watching the sunrise, and carrying 2D back to their room. Murdoc quite enjoyed the nights with 2D, and while he'd never admit it out loud, he was sure the singer knew.

It took three weeks for them to finally find and agree on a place that met all of their requirements, but the three weeks were well spent. When they finally moved into their new place, an actually _castle_ with a modernized interior, five bedrooms, a dining hall, and an auditorium that would eventually become their recording studio, all of the weeks after were spent well also.

Priorities are hard to sort out most of the time, but when you finally get them in the right order, you'll know, and you will be so glad.

* * *

**A/N: **Fun fact for you: I stayed up all night writing this story, and by the time I was done, it was about 5 in the morning. I wasn't the least bit tired, even after a night of writing, so I stayed up long enough to watch the sunrise. It was spectacular.


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